That seems to be a drastic way to get more venting. Why not just adjust the key to open farther? Which key are you thinking about doing this on, by the way?
Skewed Tone Hole Beds
- Thread starter tictactux
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That seems to be a drastic way to get more venting. Why not just adjust the key to open farther? Which key are you thinking about doing this on, by the way?
Reminds me of the second clarinet I worked on, a plastic Bundy that I was using to practicing padding.
short story, aimed flame wrong way and hole melted and deformed. I mounted a cutting/sanding cylinder on my dremel's mandrel and used the flat side to flatten the top again. I then used a 9mm sax octave pad instead of a bladder.
It works fine. It's a backup clarinet (that I hardly need as I rarely use my nice wooden noblet)
short story, aimed flame wrong way and hole melted and deformed. I mounted a cutting/sanding cylinder on my dremel's mandrel and used the flat side to flatten the top again. I then used a 9mm sax octave pad instead of a bladder.
It works fine. It's a backup clarinet (that I hardly need as I rarely use my nice wooden noblet)
There are different types. I guess I should be even be more specific. The type I'm referring to, that is IMO best for woodwind repair, is a laboratory dental micromotor and is relatively low speed of up to about 50,000RPM. It is electric and not air driven. This is what dental technicians use.
The air driven ones like what dentists use inside people's mouths are usually high speed of up to around 450,000RPM and some are low speed of up to around 200,000RPM. I think there some electric versions of these now too. There are also some others that can be called micromotors like surgical and endodontic micromotors, but these are also not the lab micromotors that IMO are most useful for woodwind repairs.
I will start a thread about this to explain.
It's the Eb key on the German eefer. That one key cannot open further as it is under the levers for the LH pinky.
The tone hole rim is higher than the pad cup rim (ie inside the pad cup) when both are parallel. So I plan to a) make the top true and b) sink it a bit towards the hinge side of the key. Then it should be able to accomodate a thin standard pad without contorsions.
are you using a "stepped" pad? Years ago before the stepped pad was invented they actually were all fully within the rim of the pad cup. This allowed for changing the height or depth and angle of the pad in the cup.
Of course you can still do this with leather, cork and non-stepped bladder pads too. You can also use a smaller stepped pad and put it more inside the cup to get more of your venting. modifying the cavity is a last option after all else is exhausted
anyone know what a Reso-pads is? ... aka, a sax stepped pad.
I had to go back to the picture to see what you were referring to. That is an interesting key set up, to say the least.
Another idea might be to put a thicker pad, or a pad with shims in the C# key to raise it a bit to give your Eb key more clearance at the top. This would probably necessitate bending the front of the key down a bit to seat the thicker pad, but that shouldn't be a problem. The key lever could be bent as well to keep it in the correct plane with the B lever.
The assumption is that the B key mechanism which is over the area of less travel of the Eb key will permit sufficient opening before the keys touch each other.
That small key LH pinky key looks as if it is an alternate Eb, but I can't tell in the photo where it touches the Eb keycup to lift the key. What a cool little clarinet.
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Another idea might be to put a thicker pad, or a pad with shims in the C# key to raise it a bit to give your Eb key more clearance at the top. This would probably necessitate bending the front of the key down a bit to seat the thicker pad, but that shouldn't be a problem. The key lever could be bent as well to keep it in the correct plane with the B lever.
The assumption is that the B key mechanism which is over the area of less travel of the Eb key will permit sufficient opening before the keys touch each other.
That small key LH pinky key looks as if it is an alternate Eb, but I can't tell in the photo where it touches the Eb keycup to lift the key. What a cool little clarinet.
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My understanding of the term is its use in the Conn Res-O-Pads which had a metal ring around the perimeter of the pad. I'm not clear as to how that relates to a stepped pad like the ones found on clarinets. Perhaps you can explain.
kinda as a joke. from musicmedic
"Conn Res-O-Pads contain a metal ring which makes the face of the pad a wider diameter than the backing. The size of the pad is determined by measuring the diameter of the back of the pad, not the face."
like a stepped pad ...
pictures?
i had to go back and now i see the pics.
how cute .. a baby albert clarinet.
I've got one too, though a Buffet
http://clarinetperfection.com/steve/BuffetEbAlbert/cl01a.jpg
remember,
1 - this is an albert clarinet
2 - this existed way before stepped pads
3 - use a smaller pad and insert it fully into the cup and seat it flush to the pad cup and all should be fine.
it's quite intriguing how accurate their engineering was way back when.
There's a small protruding nose on the upper side of the key cup that allows the alt Eb lever to lift the key.
Re the shouldered pads - there was a merry mix of shouldered and plain pads on that instrument.
And the out-of-true tonehole top still needs addressing, regardless of pad type.
could always use a marshmellow
It will create a perfect seal then age-hardened.ok .. bad idea ..
could always use a marshmellow
ok .. bad idea ..
Not so bad an idea - what if we had some material that would mature into corky qualities within say 10 minutes? A bit like thermofit ski boot liners...
I did what I planned. Got my Macromotor, put a suitable disc in it and ever so carefully filed the tone hole rim:
As you can see, the resulting plane is wider near the key hinge and very small towards the opposite end. (Amazing how rough stuff looks like when magnified).
Anyhow, the pad can now be flat and unshimmed, a play test didn't reveal any anomalies, and the opening is sufficient for a loud and clear tone. So I won't dress the tone hole bed any furter, especially as the wood tends to chip and splinter relatively easy, so I just buff the surface with a bit of linen cloth, trim the inner ridge a wee bit and be done with it.
I once had a fatality investigation that turned upon the type of fractures on the ends of the wires in a wire rope from an overhead crane in a foundry. Different types of strain on the rope at the point of failure cause different fractures or failures - a straight across with wear (a "chisel" fracture) means one thing while a "cup and cone" fracture (the worst kind) means something else.
OSHA was too cheap to stock each office with the type of equipment (an industrial microscope), but I was able to call in a few favors to gain access to one at a local testing firm. Once the wire samples were under the 'scope, it was a simple matter to identify the fractures ("cup and cone") and snap the photos through the camera attachment.
However, I fired off a few "clearing shots" to get past the opening frames on the film roll (remember when we used film?), and while these were being taken, two of my fingers drifted through the field of view and were "caught on camera", so to speak.
While what I did for a living was mostly office work (supervising field inspectors), I would occasionally have to get my hands dirty. But, those three photos convinced me that my hands could never be clean enough. Well manicured nails and hands used to office work looked like filthy, calloused members of a field hand on a cotton plantation. With cuticles that looked like World War One field fortifications, the photos convinced me to keep my hands out of the way of microscopes from that point onward.